Carnell Tate’s 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine is under dispute after the Ohio State wide receiver was officially clocked at 4.53 seconds inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday. At least two teams had the top prospect with a faster time, team sources confirmed to The Athletic.
Tate’s official time ranked 27th among the group of 34 participating prospects, which notably didn’t include four of the top five wide receivers in The Athletic’s pre-combine rankings: Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.
Teams recorded Tate with a time in the 4.45-second range, sources said. The discrepancy could be attributed to the equipment used for the laser timing, as some teams logged times differing from the official mark for other prospects as well, according to sources.
This likely means teams will monitor results from Pro Days with more scrutiny. One source told The Athletic it’s not too different from arm length measurements that teams verify independently, even though they have an official listing. As for Tate, who caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns last season with OSU, his draft stock most likely remains unchanged as a faster time confirms what scouts may have seen on the field.
Overall, prospects recorded blazing times in the 40-yard dash this week at the combine with defensive backs, defensive linemen, linebackers, tight ends and running backs logging the fastest average times for their groups since 2003.
Ohio State safety Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq set records for their respective position groups while Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. led the fast group of running backs with a 4.33-second 40 that moved him to tears.
Mississippi State receiver Brenen Thompson was the fastest man at the combine with a 40 time of 4.26.
Time to scrap ‘official’ label?
I think the “official” label for the 40-yard dash is a misnomer. It is great for TV, but in reality, teams use their own hand times more often than not, and their stopwatch is all that matters for them. Teams do that primarily for better consistency when they get times from pro days and other workouts. Regardless, the optics aren’t great and lead to questions, because there is too much money on the line for each of these drills. — Dane Brugler, NFL Draft analyst